Chapter 259 Trending Trouble
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Before his manager could even open his mouth, Soren grabbed the phone and said calmly to the paparazzo on the line, “Go ahead. Post it. We’re not negotiating.”
Then he hung up.
His manager looked like he had just been struck by lightning.
“Mr. Soren…”
“No settlement. Let them run wild. It’s not even real.”
<i>It </i>wasn’t real, but he <i>had </i><i>gone </i><i>out </i><i>for </i>dinner with <i>a </i><i>woman</i>.
No matter how you <i>spun </i>it<i>, </i><i>this </i><i>wasn’t </i><i>going </i><i>to </i><i>be </i><i>a </i><i>positive </i><i>headline</i>.
The manager stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
A problem <i>that </i><i>could </i><i>have </i><i>been </i><i>solved </i>with 14 <i>thousand </i><i>dors</i>, <i>and </i><i>he </i><i>just </i><i>let </i><i>it </i><i>go</i><i>? </i>
<i>What </i><i>if </i><i>things </i><i>spiraled </i><i>online</i><i>? </i>
<i>Everyone </i>knew <i>the </i><i>inte </i><i>could </i><i>destroy </i><i>a </i><i>career </i><i>faster </i><i>than </i><i>anything </i><i>else</i>.
Meanwhile, Eliza woke up groggy and confused. The first thing she saw was Halbert sitting nearby.
He looked like he hadn’t slept all night.
As soon as she sat up, Halbert said, “Do you even realize how much drama you causedst night?”
“Sorry, Halbert… I was just having dinner with a friend. What happened after that again?”
I <i>couldn’t </i><i>quite </i><i>remember </i><i>how </i><i>the </i><i>night </i><i>ended</i><i>. </i><i>How </i><i>did </i><i>I </i><i>get </i><i>home</i><i>? </i><i>Why </i><i>was </i><i>Halbert </i><i>here</i><i>? </i>
Then she noticed the magazine on the table in front of him.
The moment she saw it, her instinct was to hide it.
But Halbert picked it up with azy hand and flipped it open.
“Check the news. You’re trending.”
“Me? Trending?”
Eliza blinked, totally lost.
<i>What </i><i>could </i><i>I </i><i>possibly </i><i>be </i><i>trending </i><i>for</i><i>? </i>
Curious, she grabbed her phone.
Sure enough, there it was. The photo of her and Soren was already the number one trending topic.
It was blurry–so fuzzy you could barely make out the faces–but the inte was already on fire.
When Eliza opened thement section, it was filled with spection that the man in the picture was
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Chapter 259 Trending Trouble
Soren.
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Some people swore up and down they knew he was dating someone. That this was a secret rtionship.
The feed was flooded with usations against Soren.
Saying things like how he lived off fans‘ support but betrayed them in private.
<i>It </i>was absurd. But I had to admit–these inte <i>detectives </i><i>were </i><i>terrifyingly </i><i>good</i><i>. </i>
Within 30 minutes, they had analyzed <i>every </i><i>tiny </i><i>clue</i>.
The jacket Soren wore in the <i>photo</i><i>? </i><i>Matched </i><i>one </i><i>from </i><i>a </i><i>previous </i><i>public </i><i>appearance</i>.
Even the facial proportions–<i>eyes</i>, <i>nose</i>, <i>jawline</i><i>–</i><i>had </i><i>been </i><i>broken down </i><i>and </i><ipared</i>.
It’s like Sherlock Holmes runs <i>a </i><i>fan </i><i>club </i>now.
Halbert didn’t look amused.
“Better think about what you’re going to do next. If they find out who you are…”
“I’m not going to drag the Sue family into this. Isn’t that enough?”
“It’s not about what you want, Eliza.”
Halbert’s voice was calm, but sharp. “The fans won’t stop. They’ll track you down, harass you online and in person. You better hope Soren handles it fast–maybe with a cash settlement. If not… things will get ugly real quick.”
“You mean even your people can’t stop it?”
“We could.”
He arched his brow. “But why would I help you?”
<i>Of </i><i>course</i>. <i>I </i><i>should’ve </i><i>known </i><i>Halbert </i>wouldn’t <i>lift </i><i>a </i><i>finger </i><i>unless </i><i>there </i><i>was </i><i>something </i><i>in </i><i>it </i><i>for </i>him.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll ask nicely. Got any better ideas?”
“You stop seeing Soren, and I’ll help.”
“No thanks. I’ll handle it myself.”
Eliza pushed herself out of bed.
Halbert’s expression turned darker. “Do you have any idea how scary Soren’s fans are? Some of them are loaded. Finding out who you are wouldn’t be hard. Paying off media outlets to ruin your image? Even easier. Come back to Sra with me. At least there, no one will mess with you.”
“No need. There’s nothing between me and Soren. We just had dinner. That’s it. If he doesn’t deal with it, I’ll find a way.”
“You?<b>” </b>
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Halbertughed. Like, actuallyughed.
“You think you have what it takes?”
“Halbert, don’t assume you’re the only one with a brain. I’ve got my own ways.”
She started washing up, acting like the trending topic didn’t bother her at all.
Halbert stood, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves.
“When you’ve been pushed into a corner by those insane fans, don’te crawling to me.”
And with that, he left.
Once the door closed, Eliza finally fell quiet.
<i>The </i><i>photo</i>… yeah, it <i>wasn’t </i><i>a </i><i>good </i><i>look</i>.
Would Soren <i>really </i><i>be </i><i>able </i><i>to </i><i>handle </i><i>it </i><i>properly</i><i>? </i>
After hesitating, she finally pulled out her phone.
“Ms. Rivers,” her assistant answered.
“Get in touch with Soren for me.”
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